Empire Exhibition, Scotland

Empire Exhibition
The exhibition in Bellahouston Park, showing the Mosspark Boulevard entrance and on the hill the Festival Tower, with Ibrox Park in distance beyond Paisley Road West
Overview
BIE-classUnrecognized exposition
NameEmpire Exhibition
Building(s)Tait Tower
Area145 acres (59 ha)
Visitors12.8 million
Organized byCecil Weir was chair of the council of management and the administrative committee
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
CityGlasgow
VenueBellahouston Park
Timeline
Opening3 May 1938
Festival Tower of the Empire Exhibition 1938 Glasgow
Night view of South Cascade at the Empire Exhibition 1938 in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow
1938 Empire Exhibition fountains centre in front of the Palace of Engineering in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow
1938 Empire Exhibition view along Kingsway in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, with the Palace of Industries on left and the United Kingdom Pavilion in middle distance.
1938 Empire Exhibition view over the South Bandstand in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, centre left the Garden Club, ICI Pavilion and others and Tait`s Tower overhead.
1938 Empire Exhibition view east over Scottish Avenue in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, to the Scottish Pavilions and centre the Palace of Art, with Ibrox Park on distance left.
1938 Empire Exhibition, Glasgow colour postcard of the Scottish Avenue pavilions and the Palace of Art
The Palace of Engineering at the Empire Exhibition 1938 in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow
The factory building of Scottish Aviation, Prestwick, which still exists today, was formerly the Palace of Engineering at the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Bellahouston Park. It is now owned by Spirit AeroSystems.

The Empire Exhibition was an international Exhibition held at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Scotland, from May to December 1938.

Postcard in 1938 of the public logo of the Empire Exhibition held in Glasgow

The Exhibition offered a chance to showcase and boost the economy of Scotland and celebrate Empire trade and developments, recovering from the depression of the 1930s. It also marked fifty years since Glasgow's first great exhibition, the International Exhibition (1888) held at Kelvingrove Park. It was the second British Empire Exhibition, the first held at Wembley Park, London, in 1924 and 1925.

Its function was similar to the first National Exhibition in Paris in 1798 and to the first International Exhibition, the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, attended by 6 million visitors.[1]

It was declared open by King George VI and Queen Mary on 3 May 1938 at the Opening Ceremony in Ibrox Stadium, attended by 146,000 people.[2][3]

In addition to the Royal Patrons and the Honorary Presidents representing governments and institutions here and in the Dominions, the Exhibition President was the Earl of Elgin, President of the Scottish Development Council, and initiators of the exhibition.[4]

  1. ^ Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Journal. May 1985. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ "The Empire Exhibition opened by H M The King". British Pathe. 3 May 1938.
  3. ^ Captain JS Graham, General Manager (11 January 1939). Empire Exhibition - Final Report (Report).
  4. ^ Empire Exhibition Scotland 1938 - Official Catalogue.